Manual system in Pakistan hurts Faiqa

PARIS: The manual system used in Pakistan athletics hurt the country’s sprinter Faiqa Riaz as 12:48 in 100m sprint was declared her best with the athlete claiming that she had already touched 11.70 in the National Meet in Attock.

Talking to The News, Faiqa said that she had already touched 11.7 which should be declared her best. The organisers however declared that 12.48 is her personal best.

This correspondent learnt that because of the primitive system the Athletic Federation of Pakistan (AFP) has been using for years domestically athletes have been in the dark about their real timing.

AFP has never used electronic system to judge the athletes’ timing.

“11.7 is my manual time. The Paris Olympic organisers have declared 12.48 time as my best. Since I have nothing to show when it comes to electronic timing, my best time stands at 12.48 instead of 11:7. This was my first experience running under the latest system,” she said. In Pakistan, athletics authorities are using primitive manual timing system that nullifies Pakistan athletes’ chances when it comes to judging their timing.

Say if Shajar Abbas clocks 10.2 for hundred-meter sprint he may not be in a position to do the same in an international meet. His timing will be much slower when it comes to international standards or to the requirements of the international level. The same has happened with Faiqa who got her first taste of the international system and found it rather surprising.

“I was under the impression that my timing is much faster. I feel that I ran the best ever 100m sprint here in Paris, yet my timing is much slower than what I was told,” she said.

Over the years the AFP has been stuck with the old methods to get the time of their liking. The manual system comes under the mercy of those handling the watches.

Faiqa ultimately finished sixth in the heat and could well be seen finishing around 70th position among the 95 lady sprinters in the qualifying round to the 100-meter sprint.

“It was my first ever international exposure and there was a lot to learn when it comes to Paris Olympics participation. I had never seen how leading athletes get ready to participate in the heat: the right way to warm up and the right technique to run and accelerate. This experience would go a long way in bringing out the best in me,” Faiqa, 24, said.

Just recently, the AFP official’s incompetence deprived Pakistan’s leading athlete of competing in his meet as his name was not registered a day ahead of the competition.

Later the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) put the incident under the carpet to save the skin of officials and the federation.